Vegetable Cookery and Preparation Flashcards
7 cards from real Cooking Lessons practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Vegetable Cookery and Preparation flashcards as text
What is the primary reason for salting eggplant and letting it rest before cooking?
Answer: To draw out excess moisture and reduce bitterness
Salt draws moisture out of eggplant through osmosis and also leaches some of the bitter compounds, resulting in better texture and flavor when cooked.
What is the correct technique for producing properly caramelized onions?
Answer: Cook on medium-low heat with occasional stirring over 30–45 minutes
True caramelized onions require low, slow heat over 30–45 minutes to allow natural sugars to develop gradually without burning.
The technique of briefly immersing tomatoes or peaches in boiling water, then transferring them to ice water, is used to accomplish what?
Answer: Loosen and slip off the skin easily
The rapid heat expansion followed by cold contraction causes the skin to separate from the flesh, making it easy to peel without a knife.
What is mirepoix, and what is its standard ratio by weight?
Answer: Onion, celery, and carrot in a 2:1:1 ratio
Mirepoix is the classic French aromatic vegetable base of 2 parts onion to 1 part celery and 1 part carrot by weight, used to build flavor in stocks, soups, and braises.
In what order should vegetables be added to a hot wok when preparing a stir-fry?
Answer: From firmest to softest so dense vegetables cook first
Dense, slow-cooking vegetables like carrots and broccoli stems go in first, while tender ones like leafy greens and bean sprouts go in last so everything finishes at the same time.
How do stiffly beaten egg whites create the characteristic light texture of a vegetable soufflé?
Answer: They trap air that expands during baking, creating a light structure
Stiffly beaten egg whites are full of trapped air bubbles; when folded into the soufflé base and baked, the air expands and lifts the mixture into a light, airy structure.
What structural component of plant cell walls breaks down during overcooking, causing vegetables to become soft and mushy?
Answer: Pectin that loses its binding structure
Pectin is the polysaccharide that acts as 'glue' between plant cell walls; prolonged heat breaks it down, causing cells to separate and vegetables to turn mushy.